Anyone remember this famous poem of Robert Frost from high school English class? To refresh your memory:
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
It is so easy in my mind to travel the familiar old paths of routine and comfort, impatience or fear. It is harder to beat down the brush on a new path in my mind. Maybe God wants to teach me a new way, one of joy, peace, understanding, and patience, but I am too comfortable with my old patterns of thinking.
Here are some examples.
- Someone cuts me off in traffic.
Old thinking says, “Hey! Watch out! You’re a terrible driver!”
New thinking might say, “I hope that he gets safely to his destination. Maybe he is in distress over something.”
- My heater breaks and I need to spend lots of $$$ to fix it.
Old thinking says, “Aargh, I am tired of all these bills.”
New thinking says, “I am thankful that God provided the money to pay my bills.”
We can give more room to the Holy Spirit to renew our minds to think in ways that are more pleasing to God. There might be a lot of overgrowth to cut through in our minds, but once that path is easier to walk down, we will be more likely to take it.